Two men who robbed €14,000 at gunpoint from a pub landlord have been jailed for six years at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
David Gibbons (31), from Rossmore Avenue and Wayne Ellis (21), from Landen Road, both Ballyfermot, pleaded guilty to robbery on August 6th, 2002 from Mr Thomas McKeown of the Villager Inn in Chapelizod.
They were arrested at the scene after Mr McKeown's wife, Anna, phoned gardaí from a nearby shop when she observed the crime taking place.
Garda John Coughlan told Mr Justin Dillon BL, prosecuting, that Gibbons pointed an imitation gun at Mr McKeown's head just after he opened the pub and ordered him to show them where the safe was.
Judge Desmond Hogan said it was clearly a premeditated crime in which they came armed with a gun and a knife. "Although the gun was an imitation weapon, I'm sure Mr McKeown will find this of little consolation and would not have been aware at the time," he said.
"The victim impact report shows the robbery had serious consequences for the McKeown's. I'm sure it is something they will remember for many a long day to come", he added.
Gibbons has 22 previous convictions, half of which were obtained in England, and Ellis has five.
Ellis said they had been watching the pub for a few hours that morning and said he needed the money because of his long-standing heroin addiction, which developed after a child, through a previous relationship, had died.